Abbott Freestyle Libre System Gets Health Canada License
Global medical device company Abbott Laboratories ABT has been constantly making efforts to expand its diabetes care business. The company recently announced the receipt of Health Canada license for its FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System.
This is a new glucose sensing technology for diabetic Canadian adults who do not need finger sticks for calibration and can scan current glucose levels anywhere and anytime. This first-of-its-kind system is available in 30 countries outside the U.S. making glucose monitoring more convenient and easier.
The Freestyle Libre system reads glucose levels through a sensor that can be worn on the back of the upper arm hence eliminating the need for routine finger sticks. The scan shows real-time glucose results for a period of eight hours and the direction toward which the glucose level is headed. Also, the device provides the historical pattern of glucose levels over time by storing 90 days of data which further help doctors and patients better manage the disease.
Two published clinical trials reveal that people who scan more frequently can better control and maintain glucose levels. They are also most likely to spend less time in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). In this regard, we note that results from the IMPACT clinical trial demonstrated that diabetic patients using the FreeStyle Libre system spent 38% lesser time in hypoglycemia than people using with traditional self-monitoring of blood glucose systems (SMBG).
The Freestyle Libre system is expected to be available in Canada soon.
According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global continuous glucose monitoring systems market is expected to reach a worth of $6,238 million by 2022, at a CAGR of approximately 39.9% from 2016 to 2022. Considering the huge potential of the diabetes management space, we believe this latest development will work in favor of Abbott.
Over the past one year, Abbott has been trading above the Zacks categorized Medical - Products industry. The company has gained 19.3%, when compared to the 10.6% rise of the broader industry.
Recent Developments
Abbott recently announced that the French Health Ministry has approved national reimbursement across France for FreeStyle Libre. This will lend Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients of all age groups using insulin multiple times a day access to the FreeStyle Libre system.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Abbott currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked medical stocks are Mesa Laboratories, Inc. MLAB, Inogen, Inc. INGN and Align Technology, Inc. ALGN. Notably, Mesa Laboratories and Inogen sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Align Technology carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Mesa Laboratories has a positive earnings surprise of 2.84% for the last four quarters. The stock has added roughly 15.5% over the last three months.
Inogen has a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 17.5%. The stock has gained around 25.4% over the last three months.
Align Technology has an expected long-term adjusted earnings growth of almost 24.1%. The stock has added roughly 29.8% over the last three months.
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